The march to determine the 2008 Maine high school tennis singles champions is scheduled to get under way Saturday with regional qualifying matches at several venues around Eastern Maine.

The Eastern Maine regional is divided into three sections, with East 1 matches to be held at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, East 2 matches to be based at Brewer High School and East 3 matches to be held at the Buker School courts in Augusta (boys) and Mount Ararat High School in Topsham (girls).

Western Maine qualifying matches have been postponed from Saturday until Monday, with the boys based at South Portland High School while girls are based at Deering High School in Portland.

These qualifying rounds will pare the fields of boys and girls to 40 each, with 19 players from Western Maine, five from East 1, nine from East 2 and seven from East 3.

The Rounds of 40 and 32 will be played Friday, May 30, at the Wallach Tennis Complex on the campus of Bates College in Lewiston, with the Round of 16 and quarterfinals at the same location on Saturday, May 31.

The semifinals and finals for both boys and girls are scheduled for Monday, June 2, also at Bates College.

Both defending champions are in the 2008 field, but only one is a clear favorite.

Mike Hill, a junior from Mount Ararat, is the reigning boys champion after racing through the 2007 season without losing a set. He is one of three returning semifinalists in this year’s field, along with Sam Hyland of Falmouth and Neall Oliver of Deering.

Among Eastern Maine players that could advance deep in the boys field are Bangor’s Adam Bernstein and George Stevens of Blue Hill’s Cooper Mor, each of whom advanced to the Round of 16 last year, John Bapst of Bangor freshman Tom Flynn; Alex Carter of Presque Isle, Travis Blackmer of Brewer and three players from Caribou: Franz Zehenter, Shane Belanger and Casey Lancester.

Christine Ordway of Waynflete of Portland is the two-time defending schoolgirl champion but is seeded second in the Western regional behind Scarborough’s Camille Jania.

Jania lost just one game as a freshman while winning the 2005 state singles title but opted out of high school play the last two years to concentrate on national and regional competition. Jania is back this season, and looms as the favorite in a field that also features Ordway, Hallsey Leighton of Falmouth, Chantalle Lavertu of Lewiston, Nicole Garland of Deering and Erin Flynn of John Bapst.

Flynn, a senior, was seeded seventh last year and reached the quarterfinals for the second straight season before dropping a three-set decision to Lavertu. Flynn also reached the Round of 16 as a freshman.

Other potential contenders from Eastern Maine include Erika Blauth of Camden Hills of Rockport, Sarah Porter of Presque Isle, Miranda Grant of Ellsworth and Amanda Ellis and Jill Ingalls of Hermon.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045